Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Two candidates have emerged from the Arizona primary election for Superintendent of Public Instruction. They are Penny Kotterman and John Huppenthal. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is the top education official in the state, and acts as the Chairman of the State Board of Education and is the head of the Department of Education. The Superintendent of Public Instruction influences policy in the legislature, is responsible for the implementation of education legislation and is in charge of the Department of Education and its interactions with school districts. Further, the Superintendent of Public Instruction commands the bully pulpit on education issues and has a great deal of influence on the direction the state takes regarding educational issues like school funding. Because of the importance of this officeholder, we have gathered information to help you make an informed decision on November 2 when you elect the next Superintendent of Public Instruction. To read why you should pay attention to the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, click here.

.SURVEYS

Each candidate was offered the opportunity to fill out a survey about public education that the Arizona Education Network wrote. To read their views on this 13 question survey, click the pdf links below.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Survey: 2010 Arizona State Legislators Election

View the original post on our website here: http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/2010/07/survey-2010-az-legislator-election/For information about facts on school choice, funding, taxes, as well as our protocol and a blank copy of the survey, please see below. If a candidate did not submit a survey, it is noted by their name..For a bar graph overview on how each question was answered by all candidates, click Overview of Survey 2010.

School Choice:
Arizona already has a robust school-choice environment. In fact, we are a leader nationwide in the school-choice movement. In addition to traditional public schools, Arizona has approximately 500 charter schools, provides public tax credits for private schools, and allows home schooling. However, with all this choice, nearly 90% of the parents still choose to send their children to public schools..

Taxes:
Our state general fund spending hasn’t varied much when it is compared to the total personal income of Arizona citizens each year. The highest income to state spending ratio in the last 16 years was 5.2% in 1995 – it was 4.7% in 2008..
What has changed dramatically is our tax structure. Corporate income tax rates have declined from 9.3% in 1990 to 6.98% in 2008. The JLBC reports that our yearly corporate tax revenue was actually lower between 1998-2004 than it was in FY 1997..

Funding: According to most national sources, Arizona ranks near the bottom of all states in per-pupil funding. The latest figures from the 2007-2008 Census Bureau [1] show Arizona at $7, 608 per pupil compared to the national average of $10, 259 per pupil. (New York led the funding at $17, 173 per pupil.)

Survey Protocol:
All candidates running for the state Senate or House of Representatives in the 2010 primary were asked to complete our survey on issues surrounding public education in Arizona. The survey consists of 12 multiple-choice questions. A comment section follows each section allowing candidates the opportunity to clarify or elaborate upon their answers. Per our protocol, candidates were emailed the survey on on June 22 and sent two reminder emails prior to the July 16 deadline. If a candidate did not submit a survey, it is noted by their name..

You may wish to take the survey yourself to help you identify your own educational priorities; or, you may want to mail a copy to a candidate who did not return a survey to AEN. Click Blank Survey 2010, pdf to get a copy of the survey for your use.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Phoenix-based PBS channel Eight recently aired a special edition of Horizon where host Ted Simons moderated two Clean Elections debates with the candidates running for Superintendent of Public Instruction. The first debate featured Republican candidates Margaret Dugan, John Huppenthal, and Beth Price. The second debate featured the Democratic candidates Penny Kotterman and Jason Williams.

Search This Blog

Welcome to the Arizona Education Parent Network blog!
The Arizona Education Parent Network exists to provide parents, students, businesses and community members with accurate information and the resources to enable them to take action on behalf of Arizona students.
The Arizona Education Parent Network was conceived with no outside funding and is operated in conjunction with parent groups and friends of public education from across Arizona. We are a non-partisan coalition and we strive to find solutions to our current public education crisis.